Tag Archives: Audio Technology

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones are back on sale for $328

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Sony's 1000XM-series headphones have topped our list of the best wireless headphones you can buy for a couple years running. The current top pick is held by the WH-1000XM5 ANC headphones and right now they're $72 off at Amazon, making them $328 instead of their $400 list price. That's not an all time low — we saw them dip to $250 just before the holidays last year and this year they've gone for $300 and $280 at different retailers. But if you don't want to wait and see if those discounts come back, $72 represents a decent savings on a pair of highly recommended over-ear speakers. The sale comes as part of a larger sale on Sony audio at Amazon. 

Even at full price, the WH-1000XM5 are a wise buy if you're looking for superior audio, excellent noise cancellation and an enduringly comfortable fit. Our audio expert, Billy Steele, said these are in a league of their own in his review. The audio is an improvement over the previous generation — which was already great — but now the bass is punchier and the clarity is even more finely tuned. They pack a long, 30-hour battery life and the noise cancellation is adept at blocking human voices, TV sounds and various other environmental noises. There are plenty of easy-to-suss out onboard controls, letting you do things like skip tracks and answer calls. There's even a feature that pauses what you're listening to when you start talking.  

While these are an improvement over the prior model, Sony's WH-100XM4 headphones, those are still a compelling option with great sound and a comfortable fit. They're on sale for a much lower $248. That's $100 off the list price and about $20 more than the all-time low they hit for Black Friday last year.  

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-328-164134517.html?src=rss

Refurbished Sonos Era 300 speakers are $90 off in a rare deal

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Sonos has been excluding its first music speaker designed for spatial audio from previous sales events since it was released last year, so listen up: The company is selling refurbished units of the Era 300 for $359, or $91 less than retail. Yes, it's not brand new, but Sonos' refurb program has a good track record. At the moment, only the white Era 300s are available at a discount — the black version is sold out — but if you don't care about color, then you will get three free months of Apple Music with your purchase. 

We found the Era 300 to be one of the best-sounding speakers Sonos has made when we reviewed it. The model's spatial audio experience can be a hit or miss in that sometimes, the Atmos versions of songs could sound like they have too much reverb that the vocals get lost in the mix. But overall, it exhibited excellent sound quality and can make songs shine by reproducing bass, vocal and instrumentation in great detail. It makes songs sound rich, crisp and vibrant. We advised not buying the Era 300 only for the sake of spatial audio in our review, since the library of tracks that support the feature remains quite small. That could change in the future, though, especially if Apple truly does start rewarding artists for offering their music in spatial audio.

It's worth noting that Sonos recommends pairing two Era 300 speakers for "mind-bendlingly realistic surround sound," and getting the cheaper versions would make that a more affordable prospect. The model is pretty easy to set up anyway — just add the speaker to your Sonos app and then pair it with your music services of choice — so having two or more won't be an issue. In case you're looking for something else, though, Sonos is selling more refurbished devices on its website.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/refurbished-sonos-era-300-speakers-are-90-off-in-a-rare-deal-120057132.html?src=rss

Refurbished Sonos Era 300 speakers are $90 off in a rare deal

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Sonos has been excluding its first music speaker designed for spatial audio from previous sales events since it was released last year, so listen up: The company is selling refurbished units of the Era 300 for $359, or $91 less than retail. Yes, it's not brand new, but Sonos' refurb program has a good track record. At the moment, only the white Era 300s are available at a discount — the black version is sold out — but if you don't care about color, then you will get three free months of Apple Music with your purchase. 

We found the Era 300 to be one of the best-sounding speakers Sonos has made when we reviewed it. The model's spatial audio experience can be a hit or miss in that sometimes, the Atmos versions of songs could sound like they have too much reverb that the vocals get lost in the mix. But overall, it exhibited excellent sound quality and can make songs shine by reproducing bass, vocal and instrumentation in great detail. It makes songs sound rich, crisp and vibrant. We advised not buying the Era 300 only for the sake of spatial audio in our review, since the library of tracks that support the feature remains quite small. That could change in the future, though, especially if Apple truly does start rewarding artists for offering their music in spatial audio.

It's worth noting that Sonos recommends pairing two Era 300 speakers for "mind-bendlingly realistic surround sound," and getting the cheaper versions would make that a more affordable prospect. The model is pretty easy to set up anyway — just add the speaker to your Sonos app and then pair it with your music services of choice — so having two or more won't be an issue. In case you're looking for something else, though, Sonos is selling more refurbished devices on its website.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/refurbished-sonos-era-300-speakers-are-90-off-in-a-rare-deal-120057132.html?src=rss

Tidal cuts $9 from the price of its hi-fi audio streaming plan

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Tidal is condensing its plans in a bid to compete with fellow music streamers. The platform is removing its HiFi Plus and HiFI tiers to create one individual plan, aptly called Tidal. The new option will offer everything Plus users paid $20 monthly for but for $11— the same price as Spotify and Apple Music's one-person plans. It seems Tidal could no longer justify asking people to pay an extra $9 when its competitors offered similar perks for less (the company notably laid off 10 percent of its employees in December). 

The new solo tier will include Dolby Atmos, HiRes FLAC and lossless audio for over 100 million songs. Apple Music also offers lossless audio, but this puts Tidal ahead of Spotify, which has yet to roll it out. There is a small catch for current HiFi Plus subscribers: Tidal's DJ integration feature is becoming a DJ Extension — which will cost subscribers another $10. Anyone who has used DJ integration in the last 90 days will automatically have the extension added to their new plan when the tier overhaul takes effect on April 10. Notably, Tidal's family plan will also condense into just one option, a $17 offer rather than the HiFi Plus' $30 a month price tag. 

While the changes are overall a good deal for Tidal subscribers, the music streamer is getting rid of multiple options — including its free tier. As of March 4, Tidal also removed its discount for newly subscribing military personnel and first responders. Existing free tier subscribers will have to pay full price starting April 10, while military personnel and first responders who already use Tidal will have to make the switch starting June 10. Students who use Tidal will keep their $5 monthly rate. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tidal-cuts-9-from-the-price-of-its-hi-fi-audio-streaming-plan-101301143.html?src=rss

Tidal cuts $9 from the price of its hi-fi audio streaming plan

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Tidal is condensing its plans in a bid to compete with fellow music streamers. The platform is removing its HiFi Plus and HiFI tiers to create one individual plan, aptly called Tidal. The new option will offer everything Plus users paid $20 monthly for but for $11— the same price as Spotify and Apple Music's one-person plans. It seems Tidal could no longer justify asking people to pay an extra $9 when its competitors offered similar perks for less (the company notably laid off 10 percent of its employees in December). 

The new solo tier will include Dolby Atmos, HiRes FLAC and lossless audio for over 100 million songs. Apple Music also offers lossless audio, but this puts Tidal ahead of Spotify, which has yet to roll it out. There is a small catch for current HiFi Plus subscribers: Tidal's DJ integration feature is becoming a DJ Extension — which will cost subscribers another $10. Anyone who has used DJ integration in the last 90 days will automatically have the extension added to their new plan when the tier overhaul takes effect on April 10. Notably, Tidal's family plan will also condense into just one option, a $17 offer rather than the HiFi Plus' $30 a month price tag. 

While the changes are overall a good deal for Tidal subscribers, the music streamer is getting rid of multiple options — including its free tier. As of March 4, Tidal also removed its discount for newly subscribing military personnel and first responders. Existing free tier subscribers will have to pay full price starting April 10, while military personnel and first responders who already use Tidal will have to make the switch starting June 10. Students who use Tidal will keep their $5 monthly rate. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tidal-cuts-9-from-the-price-of-its-hi-fi-audio-streaming-plan-101301143.html?src=rss

One of our favorite Marshall Bluetooth speakers has dropped to a record-low price

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The Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker has a list price of $300, but right now Amazon is selling it for $236. That's a 21 percent discount and the lowest price we've tracked since it's launch last March, beating the former low of $260 it hit last December. It's also on sale for $250 at B&H Photo. We named the Middleton one of the best mid-range ($200 to $400) Bluetooth speakers you can buy in our guide. It combines good sound quality with a IP67 rating, meaning it's dust-tight and can survive a dip in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Plus there's a handy carry strap to drag it around.   

Marshall markets the Middleton as their flagship Bluetooth speaker — and the company's largest portable with a waterproof rating. At four pounds, it's still small enough to toss in a backpack, but large enough to house three battery cells adding up to 9,600mAh of charge to enable a 20-hour run time. You can even siphon off some of that juice to charge a phone thorough the USB-C port. 

It puts out 360-degree sound from two 15-watt woofers, two 10-watt tweeters and a pair of passive radiators. We found the output to be respectable, handling low frequencies well. Marshall's sound tends to have a good dynamic range combined with significant depth, and that's what you get here. 

The Middleton is also the biggest model to support Stack Mode which lets you pair up with another Middleton or the smaller Emberton II or Willen. Pairing happens using the app and double pressing the speakers' Bluetooth buttons.  

Speaking of other music boxes, the Emberton II speaker, which we named one of the best picks under $200 in that same speaker guide, is also on sale. It's 21 percent off and down to $134, which isn't an all-time low — it went for $14 less last Black Friday. It's not the loudest speaker in it's size range, but the sound is pleasantly balanced and a good accompaniment to small gatherings. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/one-of-our-favorite-marshall-bluetooth-speakers-has-dropped-to-a-record-low-price-171504625.html?src=rss

One of our favorite Marshall Bluetooth speakers has dropped to a record-low price

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The Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker has a list price of $300, but right now Amazon is selling it for $236. That's a 21 percent discount and the lowest price we've tracked since it's launch last March, beating the former low of $260 it hit last December. It's also on sale for $250 at B&H Photo. We named the Middleton one of the best mid-range ($200 to $400) Bluetooth speakers you can buy in our guide. It combines good sound quality with a IP67 rating, meaning it's dust-tight and can survive a dip in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Plus there's a handy carry strap to drag it around.   

Marshall markets the Middleton as their flagship Bluetooth speaker — and the company's largest portable with a waterproof rating. At four pounds, it's still small enough to toss in a backpack, but large enough to house three battery cells adding up to 9,600mAh of charge to enable a 20-hour run time. You can even siphon off some of that juice to charge a phone thorough the USB-C port. 

It puts out 360-degree sound from two 15-watt woofers, two 10-watt tweeters and a pair of passive radiators. We found the output to be respectable, handling low frequencies well. Marshall's sound tends to have a good dynamic range combined with significant depth, and that's what you get here. 

The Middleton is also the biggest model to support Stack Mode which lets you pair up with another Middleton or the smaller Emberton II or Willen. Pairing happens using the app and double pressing the speakers' Bluetooth buttons.  

Speaking of other music boxes, the Emberton II speaker, which we named one of the best picks under $200 in that same speaker guide, is also on sale. It's 21 percent off and down to $134, which isn't an all-time low — it went for $14 less last Black Friday. It's not the loudest speaker in it's size range, but the sound is pleasantly balanced and a good accompaniment to small gatherings. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/one-of-our-favorite-marshall-bluetooth-speakers-has-dropped-to-a-record-low-price-171504625.html?src=rss

A two-pack of Sonos Era 100 smart speakers is $88 off right now

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A two-pack of Sonos Era 100 wireless smart speakers is currently going for one of the best prices we’ve seen since the holiday season on Woot. You can get two of the speakers for $410, or $88 off the normal price. That’s almost as low as the Black Friday price from last year, when the Sonos Era 100 speaker dropped to an individual price of $199. If you’re looking for some decent midrange speakers to upgrade your home audio setup, the Sonos Era 100 is a solid option, especially at an 18 percent discount.

The Sonos Era 100 was released last year as the successor to the Sonos One, and it brought a lot of improvements. It packs two tweeters and a bigger woofer than the Sonos One, making for high quality sound. The Sonos Era 100 is our choice for the best midrange smart speaker of the moment thanks to its impressive sound quality and features like Trueplay tuning, which Sonos made even better with this model. The Era 100 uses its built-in mics to tune itself for the optimal output for its location.

With the Era 100, you also have the option to manually connect a device to the speaker via its USB-C port. Unfortunately, you’ll most likely need an adapter to connect something like a turntable, but it’s still nice to have the line-in option (the Sonos One did not). If you’re hoping to use a voice assistant with the Era 100, you should know it’s best suited for people working with the Alexa ecosystem. The speaker supports Alexa and Sonos’ own voice assistant, but it does not work with Google Assistant.

The Sonos Era 100 is a good choice for multi-room audio or a home theater setup, and can be coupled with a soundbar for an even better experience. It also has better on-device controls compared to the Sonos One, and a physical mic switch for when you want to be sure it’s not listening.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-two-pack-of-sonos-era-100-smart-speakers-is-88-off-right-now-161512036.html?src=rss

A two-pack of Sonos Era 100 smart speakers is $88 off right now

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A two-pack of Sonos Era 100 wireless smart speakers is currently going for one of the best prices we’ve seen since the holiday season on Woot. You can get two of the speakers for $410, or $88 off the normal price. That’s almost as low as the Black Friday price from last year, when the Sonos Era 100 speaker dropped to an individual price of $199. If you’re looking for some decent midrange speakers to upgrade your home audio setup, the Sonos Era 100 is a solid option, especially at an 18 percent discount.

The Sonos Era 100 was released last year as the successor to the Sonos One, and it brought a lot of improvements. It packs two tweeters and a bigger woofer than the Sonos One, making for high quality sound. The Sonos Era 100 is our choice for the best midrange smart speaker of the moment thanks to its impressive sound quality and features like Trueplay tuning, which Sonos made even better with this model. The Era 100 uses its built-in mics to tune itself for the optimal output for its location.

With the Era 100, you also have the option to manually connect a device to the speaker via its USB-C port. Unfortunately, you’ll most likely need an adapter to connect something like a turntable, but it’s still nice to have the line-in option (the Sonos One did not). If you’re hoping to use a voice assistant with the Era 100, you should know it’s best suited for people working with the Alexa ecosystem. The speaker supports Alexa and Sonos’ own voice assistant, but it does not work with Google Assistant.

The Sonos Era 100 is a good choice for multi-room audio or a home theater setup, and can be coupled with a soundbar for an even better experience. It also has better on-device controls compared to the Sonos One, and a physical mic switch for when you want to be sure it’s not listening.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-two-pack-of-sonos-era-100-smart-speakers-is-88-off-right-now-161512036.html?src=rss

Adobe’s latest AI experiment generates music from text

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This week, Adobe revealed an experimental audio AI tool to join its image-based ones in Photoshop. Described by the company as “an early-stage generative AI music generation and editing tool,” Adobe’s Project Music GenAI Control can create music (and other audio) from text prompts, which it can then fine-tune in the same interface.

Adobe frames the Firefly-based technology as a creative ally that — unlike generative audio experiments like Google’s MusicLM — goes a step further and skips the hassle of moving the output to external apps like Pro Tools, Logic Pro or GarageBand for editing. “Instead of manually cutting existing music to make intros, outros, and background audio, Project Music GenAI Control could help users to create exactly the pieces they need—solving workflow pain points end-to-end,” Adobe wrote in an announcement blog post.

The company suggests starting with text inputs like “powerful rock,” “happy dance” or “sad jazz” as a foundation. From there, you can enter more prompts to adjust its tempo, structure and repetition, increase its intensity, extend its length, remix entire sections or create loops. The company says it can even transform audio based on a reference melody.

Adobe says the resulting music is safe for commercial use. It’s also integrating its Content Credentials (“nutrition labels” for generated content), an attempt to be transparent about your masterpiece’s AI-assisted nature.

“One of the exciting things about these new tools is that they aren’t just about generating audio—they’re taking it to the level of Photoshop by giving creatives the same kind of deep control to shape, tweak, and edit their audio. It’s a kind of pixel-level control for music,” Adobe Research scientist Nicholas Bryan wrote.

The project is a collaboration with the University of California, San Diego and the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University. Adobe’s announcement emphasized Project Music GenAI Control’s experimental nature. (It didn’t reveal much of its interface in the video above, suggesting it may not have a consumer-facing UI yet.) So you may have to wait a while before the feature (presumably) makes its way into Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobes-latest-ai-experiment-generates-music-from-text-184019169.html?src=rss